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Matt Steichen

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Matt Steichen has been the sports editor at the Farmington Independent and Rosemount Town Pages since 2007. He holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism and mass communications from Briar Cliff University in Sioux City, Iowa. He has previously been a sports writer at the Sioux City Journal and Le Mars Daily Sentinel and the sports editor at the Austin Daily Herald.

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Kiana Lord won three events and the all-around competition in leading the Farmington gymnastics team past Red Wing 126.04-122.075 in its first Missota Conference dual meet of the season last Tuesday at the Red Wing Gymnastics Center. Lord's highest score came in the floor exercise where she turned in a 9.275. She also topped 9.0 in the vault, which she won with a 9.125, and the balance beam, where she scored an 8.5. She also came in second in the uneven bars. Lord won the all-around title with a total of 34.825 and teammate Kathryn Beckett placed second with a 31.575.

The Farmington boys hockey team split a pair of 4-3 home contests late last week to close out its pre-conference schedule with a record of 4-4. The Tigers won by that count last Thursday against Spring Lake Park, and then lost by the same score Saturday against Rochester Mayo Saturday at Schmitz-Maki Arena. The setback left them 3-1 against section opponents. "It would have been nice to have a clean sweep of section teams we play, but 3-1 is pretty solid," Farmington coach Keith Revels said. "I see Mayo at or very near the top of the Big Nine this season.

The Farmington girls basketball team is still without a victory to show for its efforts despite a couple more promising performances last week. The Tigers saw a nine-point lead slip away in a 55-54 loss to Apple Valley last Tuesday at Tiger Gym, and then led for much of the first half in an eventual 80-66 road setback at fifth-ranked (Class 3A) Red Wing in their Missota Conference opener Friday night. The team sits at 0-7 and has lost 11 straight dating back to last season. "Those were two good games for the girls last week, although we did not find ourselves on the winning end of either.

Hopkins won seven of the 12 events at last Thursday's dual at the Dodge Middle School pool, but Farmington's depth allowed it to score a 95-89 victory. "The boys really stepped up.... Hopkins has some top swimmers who earned a number of first-places with great times. However, our depth gave us many 2-3-4 or 2-3-5 finishes, giving us more points to win," Farmington coach Ryan Hamen said. "I'm very proud of how our guys swam." Hopkins won the first three events, but Farmington kept the score close by placing 2-3-4 in both the 200 medley relay and 200 individual medley.

Shakopee's Amy Menke scored her second goal 13 seconds into the third period and Farmington could only muster three shots over the final 17 minutes as it attempted to rally in a 2-0 loss to the Sabers Friday night at Schmitz-Maki Arena. The Tigers, who were outshot 30-19 for the game, slipped to 1-7-1 overall and 0-3 in the Missota Conference. The schedule doesn't get any easier as they faced second-ranked (Class 1A) Red Wing Tuesday and take on No. 9 New Prague on the road tonight. Goaltender Maddie Bowe finished with 28 saves in the loss.

Two more closely-contested duals slipped out of Farmington's grasp in last Thursday's home triangular at the FHS auxiliary gym. The Tigers lost to ninth-ranked (Class 2A) Monticello 36-33 on a pin in the heavyweight match, and then suffered two falls and an overtime decision in the three final three matches of a 42-31 setback against Eastview. "We wrestled well again, but left too many bonus points on the mat, which cost us both duals," Farmington coach Chad Olson said. The Tigers got out to an early lead against Monticello thanks to a forfeit at 106 pounds and a quick pin by fifth-ranked (

The Farmington boys basketball team entered Friday night's road game at Lakeville North averaging 78.5 points in its first four outings. The 10th-ranked (Class 4A) Panthers allowed an average of 55 over their first four games, all victories, and their defense was once again up to the task in an 84-63 win. Standout JP Macura dropped in a game-high 36 points, including 10 straight early in the second half that helped North extend its 46-34 halftime lead. Eli Rockett led the Tigers with a double-double, scoring 18 points and grabbing 11 rebounds. Zach Speikers added a season-high 14 points.

The Farmington dance team recently competed in a pair of Missota Conference meets. The varsity dancers placed fifth in the kick competition Nov. 29 at Holy Angels in Richfield and fourth in the jazz competition Dec. 3 at Tiger Gym. The JV squad placed second in kicks at Holy Angels and fifth in jazz at Farmington before coming in eighth Saturday at the Lakeville North Invitational. "The girls worked hard and performed very well at both conference meets.

A pair of close losses offered good news and bad news for the Farmington girls basketball team last week. The good news was the young and inexperienced Tigers were getting closer to their elusive first victory after losing their first three games by 30, 15 and 10 points.

A pair of ranked teams handed Farmington dual setbacks at Saturday's Prior Lake Tournament. The Tigers opened with a 54-15 loss to No. 1-ranked (Class 2A) Simley, and then fell 39-15 to fourth-ranked (Class 3A) Prior Lake before closing out the day with a 42-30 win over Tri-County. "The boys wrestled very well today," Farmington coach Chad Olson said. "Our focus all week has been confidence. They wrestled with a lot of confidence today and did not back down from the challenge." Three Farmington wrestlers went head-to-head with state-ranked opponents and came away with victories.